What does alternative medicine do?

Answer 1

OPINION

It gets to the root of the problem and takes care of the problem, where there is

almost any disease natural alternative works better than drugs, and alternative

has no side effects.

ANOTHER OPINION

It is a given that many people believe in alternative medicine. It can work in a way, if only because of the so-called 'placebo'-effect that causes stuff to make you feel better simply because you are absolutely convinced that it will work. The human body has an often amazing capacity to cure itself - and until the 20th century, that was also about the only way to get better - and being convinced that some pill or drops works often helps that self-healing process along. And in minor illness cases, even if it doesn't work it won't harm.

But the unrefutable fact remains that most alternative medicines have never been able to stand the test of clinical research and double-blind testing. Many alternative healers think that is because of a huge 'conspiracy' between drug firms and modern medicine, but that is a very easy way too pooh-pooh serious scientific research by tens of thousands of medical researchers and doctors worldwide. And there has never been a single shred of evidence for any of those conspiracy theories.

Homeopatic medicine for instance - still completely based on 18th century views, a time when nobody understood anything of the nature and cause of illnesses - is in many Western countries no longer allowed to call itself a 'medicine'. Invitations to manufacturers of homeopatic medicines to have their products tested for effectivity under strict Government surveillance have never resulted in them submitting their products for tests.

So while some alternative medicines may actually work and can be based on a common sense approach to a more healthy lifestyle, turning to alternative medicine in case of life-threatening illnesses like cancer will most probably result in unnessessary or premature death.